rhode island department of health

Seizing the Moment to End Hepatitis C: A Discussion with Experts and Advocates WATCH THE ARCHIVED VIDEO WEBCAST HERE Thursday, November 17, 2016, 6 PM - 7:30 PM Brown University School of Public Health 121 S. Main Street, 3rd Floor, Providence, RI Hepatitis C is killing more Rhode Islanders today than ever before – especially baby boomers. A new study shows that the disease burden in Rhode Island is much greater than previously believed. The good news is that there’s a...

A shellfishing ban in Narragansett Bay has been lifted ahead of schedule. All conditional areas were closed over the weekend and will reopen today at noon. The ban was put in place more than a week ago when the water tested positive for a toxic algae. The bay and its tributaries were closed to shellfishing while the state tested the water and shellfish for the toxin domoic acid. Since then samples collected from the area have tested negative. The state departments of health and environmental...

For a year and a half, tens of thousands of people in Flint, Michigan were exposed to drinking water with dangerously high levels of lead. In the wake of the crisis, water sampling methods have come under scrutiny. Rhode Island Public Radio environmental reporter Ambar Espinoza sat down with the chief of the center for drinking water quality at the Rhode Island Department of Health to learn how Rhode Island has changed its testing protocols post-Flint.

The Rhode Island Health Department has confirmed 18 cases of Zika virus -- a disease linked to a severe birth defect called microcephaly. The National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report all of the Rhode Island cases were contracted outside of state lines. The mosquito known to carry Zika in Florida is not established in Rhode Island. However, the state may be at risk for another mosquito which also carries the virus. "We do know that isolated mosquitos have been found here. And...

Cumberland, Rhode Island popped up on a list of cities and towns that have unsafe levels of the chemical perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA. It’s used to make Teflon. It turns out those levels have dropped significantly in the town over the past year.

New research from the Pew Charitable Trusts shows Rhode Island is leading the nation when it comes to reducing painkiller prescriptions. State officials attribute the drop to education for doctors and patients about the risk of opioid overdose. Doctors prescribed more than 2.7 million doses of opioids or prescription painkillers in February in Rhode Island. That sounds like a huge number. But Department of Health spokesman Dr. James McDonald says it’s an improvement. “I think it’s...

The Rhode Island Department of Health says the first case of Zika virus has been confirmed in the state. The state health agency says the man is in his 60s and recently traveled to Haiti. That’s one of the countries where Zika transmission is active.

The Rhode Island Department of Health continues to monitor pregnant women who have traveled to areas of the world affected by the Zika virus. The agency reports monitoring about eight to 10 women a week on average. That means health care providers keep tabs on whether any symptoms develop, and blood samples are typically collected and sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for testing. To date there have been no confirmed cases of Zika virus in Rhode Island. But health...

Rhode Island’s Department of Health has officially ended its symptom monitoring program for people returning from West Africa. The decision comes as the World Health Organization declares Guinea Ebola-free.

Health department officials have a plan to compel more doctors to use a prescription drug monitoring program. That’s one piece of the effort to fight opioid addiction and overdose. A prescription drug monitoring program, or PDMP , is an online database. It’s supposed to help anyone who prescribes controlled substances like painkillers or anxiety medications look up a patient’s history with those drugs. The idea is to spot signs of trouble, like dangerous drug combinations, or addiction. Rhode...

Rhode Island may not have enough primary care doctors to meet the need. That’s one conclusion from a major survey of the state’s health care inventory. Another conclusion: mental health resources are lacking.

Health department director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott has laid out a plan to improve Rhode Islanders’ health over the coming year. She described the plan to lawmakers Tuesday evening, a common gesture from the state's top health official. O ne of her overarching priorities is to reduce disparities across the state. Some disparities are stark in Rhode Island: blacks and Hispanics are disproportionately affected by chronic disease. And Alexander-Scott points out the environmental factors that...

An advocacy group opposing the new HPV vaccine requirement for seventh graders is raising money to bring the fight to the state capital. The ir efforts may hit a roadblock. A spokeswoman says some House republicans plan to pre-file legislation aimed at reversing a new HPV vaccine requirement for middle school students. Representatives Robert Nardolillo (R-Coventry) and Justin Price ( R-Hopkinton , Exeter, Richmond) have spoken against the new requirement. But House speaker Nicholas Mattiello...